Qatar LNG, Saudi refinery, Israeli oil, gas fields down due to Mideast strikes

2026-03-02 - 16:04

State oil giant Saudi Aramco’s 550,000 barrels-per-day Ras Tanura refinery was shut as a precautionary measure. (AFP pic) DUBAI: Qatar halted its production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) today, as Iran continued to strike Gulf countries in retaliation for Israeli and US strikes against it, prompting precautionary shutdowns of oil and gas facilities across the Middle East. Qatari LNG production is equivalent to about 20% of global supply and plays a major role in balancing both Asian and European markets’ demand for the fuel. As a wave of attacks in the Middle East stretched into a third day, they also resulted in the suspension of operations at Saudi Arabia’s biggest domestic oil refinery after a drone strike, most oil production in Iraqi Kurdistan and several Israeli gas fields, throttling exports to Egypt. State-owned QatarEnergy, 82% of whose clients are Asian, was set to declare force majeure on its LNG shipments after Iranian drone attacks on facilities in the sprawling Ras Laffan complex. The complex hosts Qatar’s gas trains – massive processing units that supercool natural gas into liquid form for export by ship. Drones also hit the Mesaieed industrial zone in Qatar’s south that lies far from the gas fields but is home to petrochemical and manufacturing facilities. Natural gas prices soared with the benchmark European price, the Dutch front-month contract at the TTF hub, up 46% as of 2.26pm. Oil prices jumped as much as 13% intraday to above US$82 a barrel, the highest since January 2025, as the conflict ground shipping to a near halt in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil supply flows. State oil giant Saudi Aramco’s 550,000 barrels per day (bpd) Ras Tanura refinery, which was shut as a precautionary measure according to an industry source, is part of an energy complex on the kingdom’s Gulf coast which also serves as a critical export terminal for Saudi crude oil. Aramco did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Iraqi Kurdistan halts oil production In Iraqi Kurdistan, which exported 200,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) via pipeline to Turkey’s Ceyhan port in February, companies including, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, Dana Gas and HKN Energy have stopped output at their fields as a precaution, with no damage reported. Offshore Israel, the Israeli government instructed Chevron to temporarily shut down the giant Leviathan gas field where it is in the process of expanding capacity to around 21 billion cubic metres a year as part of a US$35 billion export deal to Egypt. A spokesman for Chevron, which also operates the Tamar gas field offshore Israel, said its facilities were safe. Energean shut down its production vessel serving smaller Israeli gas fields. In Iran, explosions were heard on Saturday in Kharg Island, which processes 90% of Iran’s crude exports. It was unclear how the facilities were impacted. Iran, the third largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumps about 4.5% of global oil supplies. Iran’s output is about 3.3 million barrels per day of crude, plus 1.3 million bpd of condensate and other liquids. Drones intercepted in Saudi Arabia The situation at Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery is under control, the source said. Two drones were intercepted at the facility, with debris causing a limited fire, the Saudi defence ministry’s spokesman said on Al Arabiya TV, adding there were no injuries. Some of the refinery’s units were shut as a precautionary measure but the supply of petroleum and its derivatives to local markets was not affected, Saudi state news agency SPA said, citing an unnamed official at the energy ministry. Attack seen as significant escalation “The attack on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery marks a significant escalation, with Gulf energy infrastructure now squarely in Iran’s sights,” said Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft. “The attack is also likely to move Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Gulf states closer to joining US and Israeli military operations against Iran,” Soltvedt said. Saudi Arabia’s heavily fortified energy facilities have been targeted previously, most notably in September 2019 when drone and missile attacks on the Abqaiq and Khurais plants temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom’s crude production. Ras Tanura was attacked by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis in 2021.